Red Holiday OREO Cookie Balls

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Popping in again with another twist on classic OREO cookie balls! The last batch disappeared in a few moments (the hubby brought them to work where they were summarily devoured).

I’m in the midst of making up a couple of assorted holiday cookie platters to give away to family and friends – one, because my waistline can’t handle keeping all of the cookies I’ve been churning out lately, and two, because while there’s always lots of store-bought goodies to gift during the holidays, homemade, edible gifts are full of love.

These OREO cookie balls are perfect for gifting – or as a last-minute, crowd pleasing dessert to bring along to a holiday party. They’re simple to whip up, don’t require a long, complicated list of ingredients (I grabbed everything at our neighborhood Fred Meyer), and can easily be made ahead of time. Not to mention they look just lovely tucked in a little treat box with some fancy tissue paper. So I decided another round of cookie balls was in order – this time enrobing each OREO truffle in bright, holiday red chocolate.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is how endlessly customizable it is, and I like to experiment with different types of chocolate, flavorings and decorations every time I make them. These would probably be fun ‘cookies’ to make if you had little ones helping you in the kitchen, too. They could get all covered in chocolate while they help you roll out the cookie balls… and then covered in more chocolate and sprinkles as they decorate.

About the Recipe

These chocolate-y cookie balls are so easy to make.

That being said, be sure you don’t skip a couple of important chilling steps: once before rolling the cookie mixture into balls, and the second before dipping the cookie balls in the chocolate coating. Chilled cookie filling is much easier to work with, and the cookie balls will keep their shape (and not fall apart) in the warm, melted chocolate if they’re solidly chilled before dipping.

Start with a package of classic OREO cookies. I like to use a food processor to quickly pulverize the cookies into crumbs (cookie, filling and all), but you could definitely use a sturdy plastic freezer bag and a rolling pin to smash the cookies, as well. Add a brick of softened cream cheese (either full-fat or light will work), blend until thick and creamy, and voila, in minutes, the filling is done.

Pop the mixture in the fridge for a bit, to chill, before scooping and rolling out a few dozen cookie balls. Chill again, this time in the freezer, before dipping the cookie balls in the melted chocolate.

While the truffles are chilling, melt the white chocolate, and stir in some oil-based, red food coloring until the chocolate is a vibrant, Christmas-y red. You could of course use plain white, milk or dark chocolate if you prefer, but the red is particularly festive, especially once we add some crushed peppermint candy and white chocolate drizzles on top.

Alternatively, you can use red candy melts, which are made especially for dipping and coating candy. Remember though, that the coating will taste like vanilla/sugar icing, rather than white chocolate, if you go this route.

It’s not required, but I’ve found that using a candy dipping tool makes the chocolate coating process even easier. Don’t worry if you don’t have one – you can always use two forks to swirl and coat the cookie balls in chocolate.

Then, it’s time to decorate! Once the red chocolate coating has fully set, melt some more plain white chocolate, or use decorator icing, to pipe on decorative designs.

Refrigerate until ready to serve, then watch as all your impressive, hard work disappears in seconds! Happy (no) Baking!

Red Holiday OREO Cookie Balls

Ingredients

36 OREO cookies

8 oz package brick cream cheese, softened

12 oz white baking chocolate, melted

2 tsp red food coloring

sprinkles or icing, to decorate

Instructions

Make the cookie ball filling:

Pulse together the OREO cookies in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment until finely-crushed. Cut the softened cream cheese into tablespoon-sized pieces and add to the OREO crumbs, pulsing until smooth and completely combined. The mixture will be thick and sticky. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes until chilled through.

Alternatively, place the OREOS in a plastic freezer bag, and use a rolling pin to finely crush into crumbs. Stir in the softened cream cheese until smooth and completely combined.

Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. I like to use a small cookie scoop to scoop out uniform cookie balls, then use my hands to gently roll into smooth balls. Freeze for 10 minutes.

To coat and decorate:

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. Set aside.

Melt the white chocolate in either a double-boiler over gently simmering water, or in a heat-proof glass bowl in the microwave. If using a microwave, heat in bursts of 30 seconds on medium power, stirring well and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula after each increment. Once the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, stir in the food coloring.

Dip the cookie balls in the melted chocolate, working with one cookie ball at a time. Use two forks or a candy dipping tool to roll each cookie ball in the chocolate until evenly coated. Let the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, then transfer the chocolate-covered cookie balls to the prepared pan and let sit until the chocolate is set.

Drizzle with additional melted chocolate or decorate with icing as desired.

Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Notes

You may substitute 16 oz vanilla candy wafers for the white baking chocolate. Melt as directed on the package, then stir in 1 Tbsp all-vegetable shortening until smooth. Stir in the food coloring. Dip the cookie balls in the candy coating, decorate, then refrigerate until serving.

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